Check out my webbed foot baby
Black Copper Marans discussion thread
- Thread starter geebs
- Start date
I had this to happen with one of my chicks last year. It only happened with the one chick, but I've decided to change the rooster in the pen this spring. This wasn't my only decider to change, just happened to be his pen and so happened to find a better rooster for the hens. I did decide to cull the little fella because of the webbing. I've hear of folks splitting the skin if they catch it early, but that's genetics and will carry forward. Even though I kept that chicks papa I wouldn't have kept the son.
I have heard 2 things... One is that it is from breeding too close in relatives and the other is that it happens frequently with heavily feathered legged birds. I don't really know but I thought it was interesting and had to share. I got the hatching eggs from eBay. BCMsThat is strange....is it common?
Folks on here would know better than me, but in my opinion it seems to me that the gene pool isn't real diverse for BCMs. Or at least it seems that way around my neck of the woods. I know I've had to cull harder with them than any other breeds we have/had. Not all from defects,but they just weren't "right". It seems like there is such a wide swing of what will pop up. I've only kept these for 3 years and in the first 1-1.5 it seems like all I got done was buying eggs, hatching, growing them out and putting alot in the freezer. I like what we have now, but I still don't have the color in my hens that I want, but I keep trying. I have a lighter roo that I'm going to try in a couple of single matings to see if I can get some improvement this year. I guess I'll see by fall anyway.
To me it seems just the opposite, the gene pool is too diverse. Too many things mixed into it, that is why there is such a range from way too dark to way too much color from the same birds. I think what has happened is because they are still fairly hard to get, at least in some places, and expensive, people get them and as soon as they start laying they start selling eggs and chicks, without regard for how the birds look, because they are trying to make back the money they spent on the birds. Whereas if they had been line breeding and culling heavily for at least two or three generations their birds would be closer alike in type and color because they would have been getting rid of the odd ball genetics.
I have one batch of 14 from the same breeder and they are all over the place, from almost pure black to almost solid flaming orange. This is the breeders first or second generation. it will take several generations of heavy culling and careful breeding to get a higher percentage of chicks that look alike.
If the gene pool only had Marans in it.....things would be ALOT different me thinks.
Zanna
Songster
Last edited:
- Jan 30, 2009
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unkadan
Songster
I'm wondering if anyone else has seen extra toes on their BCM? I was changing leg bands on chicks this morning and thought this chicks foot looked a little odd, like too many feathers trying to grow out of one spot made a fat fleshy spot on the outside of the outside toe. Looking from underneath it appears to be a vestigal toe. On the other foot in the same spot there is a tiny paper thin toenail growing upside down.
I am presuming this could be inherited, so this little boy is my first cull. (tho he won't actually go anywhere until he's big enough to eat)
I am presuming this could be inherited, so this little boy is my first cull. (tho he won't actually go anywhere until he's big enough to eat)
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